in this issue:
hot button issue: PRO-LIFE T-SHIRTS
abortion: DEATH IN MICHIGAN
catholic bishops: PHILIPPINES / SCOTLAND
condoms: WARNING LABELS
politics: SANTORUM / TWO MASTERS
population control: SINGAPORE
sex education: STRATEGY BACKFIRES
stem cell research: LOBBYING
united nations: UN FOUNDATION / UN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE / UNFPA / UNICEF
reflection for prayer: PSALM 34:18-20
hot button issue
PRO-LIFE T-SHIRTS: A 17-year-old high school student in Newport News, Va., was told he could not wear his American Life League “abortion is homicide” t-shirt to class last week. But thanks to a quick response from the Thomas More Law Center, the student’s free speech rights were restored.
On April 27, American Life League is sponsoring National Pro-life T-shirt Day. Pro-life students across the country are asked to wear shirts with a pro-life message when they attend school that day. The official shirt of National Pro-life T-shirt Day is available from ALL online, or by phone at 866-LET-LIVE.
(Reading: “Pro-life shirt banned as ‘obscene,'” World Net Daily, 3/12/04)
abortion
DEATH IN MICHIGAN: A 15-year-old girl died following a second-trimester abortion, and local police and the state attorney general are investigating. There are several factors of note. The girl’s boyfriend is 24, which raises the question of statutory rape. Michigan is a parental notification state, and the girl’s parents were not notified. The boyfriend’s sister took the girl for the abortion.
(Reading: “15-year-old Detroit girl dies from botched second trimester abortion,” LifeSiteNews.com, 3/11/04)
catholic bishops
PHILIPPINES: Cardinal Ricardo Vidal has rebuked presidential candidate Panfilo Lacson for supporting a population control program that incorporates contraception. The cardinal told reporters he spoke to Lacson and told him, “you should be pro-life.”
(Reading: “Philippine opposition presidential candidate rebuked by cardinal for anti-life stance,” LifeSiteNews.com, 3/12/04)
SCOTLAND: Archbishop Mario Conti of Glasgow said a new government sexual health program “paid too much attention to the medical treatment of symptoms and not enough to the spiritual and social causes of the problem.” He added that allowing schools to give students medical advice without their parents’ knowledge was “wrong in principle.”
(Reading: “Conti attacks sexual health strategy,” The Herald, 3/2/04)
condoms
WARNING LABELS: The government is pondering a package notation admitting that condoms do not prevent the spread of all sexually transmitted diseases. That has caused a stir with some pro-abortion members of Congress, who are alarmed at this deviation from the “safe sex” message. On the other hand, Rep. Jo Ann Davis (R-Va.) said, “This is not about social ideology, or religious ideology. It’s about informing women. … And truly, the only way to be protected is abstinence. That’s not ideology — it’s fact.”
(Reading: “Bush administration weighs condom warning,” Associated Press, 3/11/04)
politics
SANTORUM: Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) has endorsed the re-election efforts of his colleague, Sen. Arlen Spector (R-Pa.). Santorum has a pro-life voting record. Spector generally votes pro-abortion. Santorum is being criticized for failing to support Spector’s challenger, Rep. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), who has a pro-life voting record.
(Reading: Endorsement letter from Spector campaign; “Issue: Social and Cultural,” Toomey for Senate)
TWO MASTERS: Barbara Kralis of the Jesus Through Mary Foundation notes the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is — thus far — silent on the fact that Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) claims to be Catholic yet holds a pro-abortion political position. Because of that silence, she asks, “Will the Catholic bishops be responsible for the election of pro-abortion, pro-euthanasia John Kerry because the message they are currently sending to all Americans is that being pro-abortion is not a grave offense against God?”
(Reading: “Is the Church serving two masters — politicians and God?” Catholic Online, 3/16/04)
population control
SINGAPORE: The birth rate in Singapore is so low that one government minister is suggesting that it be national policy to officially discourage abortion. Singapore is now suggesting that couples have three or more children.
(Reading: “Singapore should discourage abortion to lift birth rate: MP,” Agence France Presse, 3/15/04)
sex education
STRATEGY BACKFIRES: A British study shows that more explicit sex education has led to more unwed teen pregnancy. Researchers report, “The government’s teenage pregnancy strategy is based on the premise that it is unrealistic to expect young people to abstain from sex. They have embarked on a damage-limitation exercise dependent on condom use and the use of the morning-after pill. The figures show, however, that it might be wiser to support the majority in abstinence and demonstrate to the minority the physical, emotional and psychological benefits of delaying sex until marriage.”
(Reading: “UK sex-ed backfire: Survey reveals increased pregnancy rates in teens subjected to program,” LifeSiteNews.com, 3/15/04)
stem cell research
LOBBYING: A pro-stem cell interest group is drumming up support for expanding the number of human embryonic cell lines available for federally funded research. The Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research claims 103 members of Congress are on board with the proposal.
(Reading: action alert, Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research, 3/13/04)
united nations
UN FOUNDATION: At a conference in Santiago, Terri Bartlett of Population Action International (and former head of Planned Parenthood of Louisiana) noted that the United States seems determined to “turn back the clock” on population control efforts. In addition, Carmen Barroso of the International Planned Parenthood Federation said Catholics in Latin America are now “taking a different position from the strict doctrine preached by the pope. Around 96 percent of those surveyed believe that public health centers should offer free contraceptive methods and that the government should promote the use of condoms.”
(Reading: “Latin American, Caribbean nations focus on population goals,” UN Wire, 3/11/04)
UN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE: The chairman of this UN group complained about “certain troubling social and cultural attitudes” in Colombia, including the country’s laws restricting abortion. Abdelfattah Amor of Tunisia said “punishing women who had been raped by denying them any legal medical alternative was akin to heaping one outrage upon another.”
(Reading: “Human Rights Committee ‘perplexed’ over gaps in Colombia’s implementation of international covenant on civil, political rights,” United Nations news release, 3/16/04)
UNFPA: A conference in Amsterdam has concluded with a pledge “to break the silence and taboos on culture and religion and their relation to reproductive and sexual health and rights.” A joint statement also acknowledged “the right of young people to information, including sexual education, and reproductive health services.”
(Reading: “Amsterdam conference examines links between reproductive rights, culture,” UNFPA news release, 3/8/04)
UNICEF: Researchers say a UNICEF-sponsored polio vaccination campaign may have been “a front for sterilizing the nation.” Dr. Haruna Kaita investigated the “vaccines” and found things that were “harmful, toxic; some have direct effects on the human reproductive system.” In 1995, a UNICEF vaccine program in the Philippines was halted after it was discovered that the vaccine was laced with a chemical that “permanently causes women to be unable to sustain a pregnancy.”
(Reading: “UNICEF Nigerian Polio Vaccine Contaminated with Sterilizing Agents Scientist Finds,” LifeSiteNews.com, 3/11/04)
reflection for prayer
PSALM 34:18-20: When the just cry out, the Lord hears and rescues them from all distress. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted, saves those whose spirit is crushed. Many are the troubles of the just, but the Lord delivers from them all.